On the vast expanse of flash-crete before the Schneider family fortress, an entire formation of Land Raiders advanced toward the stronghold. These steel behemoths, exclusive to Astartes Chapters, bore no known Chapter insignia on their hulls; instead, they were marked with a peculiar golden emblem.
These were all items Alexei had scrounged from Cawl. In exchange, Alexei had provided him with the blueprints for the Goliath Bipedal Robot. While the Archmagos was clearly more interested in the Thor, Alexei stated that it came with a different price tag—one that required a God-Machine in return. Cawl remained silent and simply turned to leave.
In Alexei's view, since the patriarch of the Schneider family was already a minion of Chaos, it was unlikely that anyone else had escaped corruption. The Spectres sent earlier were unable to approach the fortress; any attempt to get close triggered psionic warnings so frantic they bordered on madness. Consequently, the Spectre agents could only conduct reconnaissance from the perimeter.
To address this, Alexei decided to first send a company of the Imperial Guard into the fortress to investigate. He immediately had Heinrich issue a statement to the Schneider family: if they did not comply, he would launch a direct assault. He estimated that a full-scale attack would cause the Chaos forces within the Hive to rise in open revolt. To his surprise, however, the Schneider family actually agreed to the demand.
The convoy came to a halt on the open ground not far from the fortress. Over a hundred Alur Imperial Guardsmen, clad in various models of power armor, disembarked from a dozen Land Raiders. These veterans were capable of taking on a hundred PDF troops each; under normal circumstances, clearing a family fortress would be well within their capabilities.
"Is this the place?" Koster asked as he led his squad out of a Land Raider. He looked through his visor at the grand fortress looming in the shadows of the daylight, sensing a sinister aura emanating from the structure.
"Boss, how are we getting across?" asked Dale, who was encased in heavy Firebat power armor.
"Use your own two legs," Koster replied. After a quick self-diagnostic of his power armor's servo-array, he began striding toward the nearby fortress.
"Why didn't we let the Land Raiders drive us in?" another squad member asked.
"Don't be stupid. They aren't idiots; they'd never just let us drive in. We haven't officially broken ties yet, so command sent us to take a look first," Koster replied bluntly. "If they dare attack us, the Alur army can flatten this place."
Koster's visor displayed the mission objectives: they needed to enter the fortress interior to scout the situation and mark coordinates on the map at key locations. Once the squad had cleared an area, they were to plant coordinate transmitters.
If they encountered danger, they were to hold out until reinforcements arrived, cooperating with them to sabotage key facilities so that battlecruisers could provide low-altitude fire support. Finally, they were to extract.
The family guards atop the fortress seemed to spot the Alur Imperial Guard from a distance. The massive steel gates slowly groaned open. Likely due to a long lack of lubrication, the piercing screech was so loud it could be heard by Koster and his men even through their power armor's dampeners.
"Damn it, that gate sounds like a ghost screaming," Dale grumbled. Looking at the dim corridor behind the gates, he frowned but followed the squad inside.
Once everyone had entered, the alloy gates behind them groaned shut again with that same ear-splitting noise. A figure stepped slowly out of the shadows—a handsome man with elegant movements appeared before them.
"Highest respects to the representatives of Alur," the man said with a bow before introducing himself. "I am the Interior Chamberlain of this fortress. I am deeply sorry about the matter regarding the family patriarch. The new patriarch has been waiting in the main hall for some time. Please, follow me." He stepped aside and gestured for them to follow.
"Boss, this guy looks wrong. Should I take a shot to test him?"
"No rush. Let's see more first. Record the surrounding terrain while you're at it. Find where the fortress's void shield array is and mark the coordinates on the map," Koster commanded calmly.
"Understood."
The Alur Imperial Guard followed the chamberlain toward a tall, black Gothic building in the distance. As they ventured deeper, a mist began to rise. The number of family guards along the path increased; they stared fixedly at the Imperial Guard with eerie, unsettling eyes.
"I'm tempted to burn their eyes to cinders," Dale said crossly.
Koster remained silent. His visor constantly updated with the path they had traveled and nearby structures. "Armory, heavy anti-air platform, communications array..." Coordinates were marked on his map one by one, yet he still hadn't scanned the void shield array.
"Then it has to be in that direction," Koster thought, looking toward the black Gothic building ahead.
Suddenly, they stopped. The chamberlain who had been leading them had vanished. "Something's wrong! Stay alert!"
The Imperial Guardsmen raised their weapons and moved closer together to form a defensive circle. Those in heavy power armor stood at the front to act as cover for their allies.
In the silence, Dale suddenly spoke up. "Boss, do you hear a sound? It's making my head hurt..."
Koster's expression changed. "Ignore it, Dale! I order you to ignore it!"
"Boss..." The voice inside the Firebat armor gradually went quiet. The others began to aim their weapons at the armored back. After a long moment, heavy breathing echoed again, and Dale said in a weary voice, "No, I'm okay. I held it off."
Koster frowned, about to speak, when a piercing shriek cut through the armor's barriers into everyone's ears. "Careful! Enemy attack!" the company commander roared. The once-wide street was now shrouded in a thick mist, and something seemed to be moving within it.
"You killed my father! I want you all dead! You will be the first sacrifices; my master's servants will make your souls tremble!" A furious roar erupted from within the dense fog.
As the voice faded, deformed monsters surged from the mist. They were creatures woven from a mass of twisted human limbs, with countless wailing faces floating on their skin. They lunged at the group, accompanied by a horde of Slaanesh cultists.
"Fire!" At the command, a metal storm swept toward the enemy. A single shot from a Marauder's heavy grenade launcher was enough to turn the twisted creatures into fragments, while Firebat plasma flames erupted, momentarily clearing the fog ahead.
"Go plant the coordinate transmitters!" the company commander shouted. "First, Second, and Third squads, you're responsible for destroying the heavy anti-air platforms! Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth squads, go silence the enemy communications array! The rest of the squads follow me to the target building to find the void shield array!"
"Yes, sir!" The Imperial Guard formation split up. They did not forget their primary mission. Under the fierce suppressive fire, the servants of Slaanesh were momentarily unable to close in, but ammunition was limited. they had to complete their tasks and hold out for reinforcements using what they had.